Infernal Flames and Sorrowful Ashes
by Alucard Hemlock
Summary: Four years have passed since the death of his family and now Danny PhantomFenton has became a heartless mercenary known as Danny Darkness, but can an old enemy running away from a new threat help melt the ice around his heart? DannyxEmber.
1. Chapter 1: Danny Darkness

Infernal Flames and Sorrowful Ashes

**Title**: Infernal Flames and Sorrowful

**Rating**: R

**Genre**: Angst/Romance

**Pairings: **Danny/Ember

Danny Phantom and other related characters are in copyright of Butch Hartman. This writing is strictly for fandom and not for profit of any kind.

. Chapter 1: Danny Darkness

"Your journey will not end well; you cannot change your fate. No man can."

-Old man, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

A dark fog was over Amity Park and things had changed for the worst in the past few years. A silver-haired youth who held a crabby expression sat next to one of the gravestones of and looked at the sky. It had been five years since Danny's family and friends were killed by Vlad Masters AKA Vlad Plasmius and his lackeys. Since then, he proceeded to destroy ghosts completely instead of sending them back to the Ghost Zone. However, other ghosts had joined his cause because they were afraid to be destroyed or they shared his views on them.

"_Another night and I still can't get over that incident five years ago_." Danny thought as he fiddled around with the scythe that he had built two years ago. He had lost everything because of Vlad's murderous actions and the scythe was something that he made to help him remember why he fought so mercilessly. Not to mention that being unable to get a decent amount of decent sleep turned Danny into a shell of his former glory

Danny got up and brushed himself off. He had disowned his humanity and he had became a mercenary to help others who needed his help. His physical appearance had also changed. His eyes were now red, no longer blue or green. As for his attire, he wore a black, floor length duster that appeared to have been tattered from fighting ghosts. He still had the suit, but it was modified with eight buckles that going down the sides of his pants and his boots now had spikes at the bottom and buckles as well. The emblem was now changed to a red skull with nails stuck in it and the initials for his new name, Danny Darkness.

It was then that Danny's ghost sense went off and he knew that there was probably another ghost, but this one was different, he was actually sensing a ghost in pain as well.

"_These are ghosts that just won't go away." _Danny thought as he left the Amity Park graveyard and flew to where the ghost was. He knew that this was just the very price of his war against all ghosts.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2:The Ghost Girl and The Phantom

**Chapter Two: The Ghost Girl and the Phantom **

"_In the cold of winter _

_I found the other half of me _

_An ameythst broke through the walls _

_Of silent solitude_

_But we are lost in a world of despair, _

_So we head to the ocean; A destination unknown." _

_-_Draconian, Akherousia

Danny flew to the area where he sensed the two ghosts as quickly as possible, hoping he could get to the area he needed to be on time. He arrived at an alley where he sensed the ghosts at. He ignored the rancid stench of excrement, urine, and garbage that was in the air of the alleyway and searched for the ghosts and his eyes caught sight on someone he never expected to see.

"_Ember…"_ Danny thought as he gazed at her. She was injured and beaten. Her clothes also looked tattered and ruined from whoever was fighting her. He and Ember were still enemies, but there were times where they actually cooperated and set aside their differences.

Danny walked over to the injured Ember and she looked at him with eyes of hatred and malice, knowing that she would probably die at his hands…or someone else's.

"What do you want! Did you come to laugh at me or finish me off?" Ember asked weakly with tears filling up in her eyes.

"No I didn't," Danny answered. "Who did this to you?"

"Here's hint. He's right behind you ghost child." A familiar voice hissed as he grabbed Danny by the neck, causing him to drop the scythe that he carried with him.

"S-Skulker!" Danny choked weakly.

"I was originally going to hunt down this one, but in your case, I'm willing to make an exception." Skulker hissed as he slammed the halfa against the hard pavement and glared at Danny with his mechanical, green eyes. Danny felt like he was staring down a demon and he was a ghost who stood up against Pariah Dark and his evil future self, Dan Phantom.

Ember got up, using her guitar as a stand and she felt her legs wobble as she tried to stand and she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to fight any further.

"Hey Skulker. I was the one you wanted. Remember?" Ember shouted.

Skulker did not respond. Instead, he shifted his attention from Danny and focused on Ember. This was perhaps one of the most foolish things she has ever done before as she stared at the large mass of gears and rusted metal that delivered a cynical and nazi-esque type feeling to Ember's heart.

"You were foolish to offer yourself to me and I'll prove it." Skulker hissed as he slid a hand down Ember's pants and the stretch leather tore away from her body and she felt feelings of anger, hatred, and embarrassment as her most sacred area was exposed to both Danny and Skulker, even though Danny was unconscious to even see what was going on.

"This will teach you a lesson in 'survival.' You should have never challenged me." Skulker hissed as he grabbed Ember by her wrists and grinned.

"What are you going to do?" Ember asked with fear in her voice.

"You'll find out." He answered as he did the most unspeakable thing anyone could do. Impalement? No. Severing a limb? No, this was even worse. Skulker placed a cold hand on Ember's lower stomach and a small blade appeared out of his finger as he brought the blade closer to Ember and slit a small cut across her lower stomach and green ectoplasm covered his hand.

"L-Let me go." Ember begged.

"Sorry, but that is a wish I cannot grant." Skulker replied.

"Fuck….you." Ember replied weakly.

"And I thought the music industry would have taught you better vocabulary." Skulker hissed as he drove the blade deeper and deeper.

Danny staggered from his unconscious state and saw one of his old and most hated enemies being tortured by the ghost hunter. Another thing that was causing problems for him was that he felt Ember deserved this kind of torment for the suffering she put him through and she was somewhat naked as well.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Danny shouted as he shot a green ball of ectoplasm at Skulker, causing him to let go of his grip and leaving Ember more unconscious and more wounded than before.

"I guess I should focus on the next prey for now." He then turned his attention to Ember. "I'll deal with you later."

Then his attention turned on Danny. "Now let's finish this." Skulker shouted as multiple weapons appeared and shot at Danny. He avoided seven out of ten of the missiles, but he was struck down and left unarmed.

"So I guess this new 'Danny Darkness' is not as great as they say he is." Skulker hissed.

"That's only half of what I have." Danny replied as he grabbed his scythe and it started to glow with a red flame as he slashed at Skulker, only severing the arm of the Ghost Zone's "Greatest Hunter."

Skulker cursed under his breathe and looked at Danny, then at the stump where his arm use to be. "Fine, keep her. I already have what I came for: Her DNA sample. You've won this fight ghost boy, but I'll be back for you and the girl." It was then that Fighter Jet style wings appeared from his back and he escaped like a coward.

When he was gone, Danny turned his attention to Ember and she wasn't much of a threat now. . However, instead of destroying her or sending her back to the Ghost Zone, he picked her up, used his cloak to cover the battered scene, and grabbed what little possessions Ember had left and headed back to the Fenton household.

Danny arrived home and carried Ember up to his bedroom and looked at her body, deciding that her wounds needed to be nursed. Now he was going to have to….

"Oh crap. Undress her!" Danny shouted, but not loud so that someone could hear him. He sighed and begun by removing Ember's boots and other accessories and just as he was about to remove her top, Ember woke up with eyes full of surprise and rage.

"Hey! You were going to rape me, weren't you?"

He didn't answer and he pulled the top over Ember's head and tossed it over his shoulder, carried her bridal style to a nearby bathroom and gently placed her in a bathtub. Danny then turned one of the knobs as water poured out from the faucet and into the tub and pulled out a washcloth as he rubbed it over her back and her wounds begin to regenerate, being a ghost and all. She only sighed, knowing that she was in good hands. The water then began to turn green and it stained Danny's clothes. He looked at Ember's makeup stained face and it looked as if she was crying ebony tears. He shook it off and continued what he was doing.

Once he was finished, he pulled the surgical tape out to prevent any unclosed wounds from bleeding anymore ectoplasm and he looked at the arm that she would keep her trademark glove on. There were several scars on her arm that looked like she was injected with something. He only ignored that and continued what he was doing.

"Now hold still." Danny warned as he finished nursing her wounds.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just stay here and out of Skulker's sight. And no, you can't wear any of your tattered clothes." Danny told her.

"Fine dipstick." Ember said under her breathe.

"What's that/" Danny asked.

"Nothing." She answered with disgust in her voice.

He then took Ember to a room that once belonged to Jazz before her death and looked around. It was messy, ram shackled, and it looked as if he never bothered to take care of the house.

"You'll be staying in this room and one more thing…" Danny's voice trailed as he placed a thin, steel collar around her neck and it was engraved with the Fenton logo.

"What are you doing and what is this thing?" Ember asked as she tried to tear the collar away, but she felt an electric shock emit from the collar and she was changed into a human with black hair and normally pale skin, but her eyes were still the same color.

"It's a shock collar for ghosts. If you tamper with it or use any of your powers, you'll get shocked. Got it?" Danny asked coldly.

Ember nodded, not wishing to offend Danny. "Good." he said with approval and he changed his attitude when he saw Ember staring down at the floor.

"I'm sorry Ember, it's just that I don't trust you yet and letting you off with your powers would be foolish." Danny said as he hugged her and closed the door leading to Ember's room and she just cried herself to sleep, wishing for the human life that she would never get back.

To be continued.


	3. Chapter 3: Origins

**Chapter 3**: Origins

_"With every step I take _

_The less I know myself _

_And every vow I break _

_On my way towards your heart _

_Countless times I've prayed _

_For forgiveness _

_But Gods just laugh at my face _

_And this path remains, _

_Leading me into solitude's arms."_

-H.I.M, The Path

Dream/flashback

Ember found herself lost in the hallway of an extremely luxurious Victorian house. The walls were painted with a bright yellow paint and beautiful, purple violets and the floor was of a cold, black marble. She had been here many times before in her dreams and the house that she was in did look familiar, but she could never figure out who the owners of the house were or who lived in it. Judging by how big the house was, it was obvious that it belonged to a wealth family.

Ember walked quietly and shivered as her bare feet walked against the cold marble floor and she heard the sound of a little girl giggling.

"CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHERE I AM?" Ember shouted, but no one could here her, nor even see her. At the moment, this was a good thing since she was covered in ectoplasm-stained bandages and she was naked and bare as the day she was born.

She then walked towards the room where she heard the laughter and it grew louder and louder. She then found a brown door and opened it and inside, she saw a small little girl at least at the ripe age of five or six. The girl's raven black hair was tied up in pigtails and she had the same features that Ember possessed. She sat playing with her teddy bear and talking to it, the way most children did. She was also wearing a black Victorian dress and black buckle shoes.

"Cute." Ember thought. She then heard someone else coming from the staircase behind her. Ember turned around and saw a man in his early thirties or forties with messy and unkempt black hair and grey eyes with dark circles underneath them, showing that he was hard at work and did not have time for any sleep or food.

"Ember honey. I need you to come with me. There are two people I want you to meet." the "scientist said.

"What are you talking about? I'm-" Ember then realized that nobody could see nor hear her and she also realized that the girl was a younger, more toddler like version of Ember.

The younger Ember then looked at her teddy bear, and then looked up at the man. "Okay Daddy." He then picked her up, holding her in his arms. Ember followed her younger counterpart and the man until they opened a door that revealed two tall men in black suits with grey hair.

"So, is this your experiment professor Marcus Mclaine?" The first suit asked as he looked at the younger Ember, who was taken offense to being called an experiment.

"No, just give me a few more days. She may have been cured, but my daughter-"Marcus was then interrupted.

"Your daughter what?" The first suit asked, impatience was running through the tone of his monotonous voice.

"My daughter is not some freak experiment for your government." He said sharply.

The second suit then spoke. "Your boss doesn't care about what Ember needs or wants. You do know that he is your ancestor professor? As far as I'm concerned, he was responsible for several Nazi ghost experiments during World War II."

Shock was in Marcus's eyes and he set his daughter down. "Ember, go." He said with fear and little emotion in his voice. The younger Ember only obeyed and she headed back to her bedroom while the other Ember watched and listened to the argument.

"I want nothing to do with his dirt-cheap Nazi ideals and his experiments that he used to help him win World War II. Now get out and leave me and my daughter alone!" Marcus shouted before slamming the door in their faces.

End dream/flashback

Ember woke up from the madness of her dream, feeling the cold steel around her neck and the sweat on her forehead that she never felt before. She checked the clock that sat by the nightstand and saw from the digital numbers that it was midnight and Danny was either asleep or he was probably hunting down another ghost that dared to cross his path. That didn't bother her to a great extent, but there was only one question on her mind…

"Was that my….father?" Ember thought.

She shook the thought off for now and only went back to sleep, knowing that she would probably need it for tomorrow, not even bothering to search for any clothes to wear to bed.

Elsewhere, Danny had been watching Ember sleeping peacefully like an angel that fell from a war in the heavens and grinned, knowing that she was still safe as he pulled the blanket over her body to keep her warm from the cold hands of the freezing temperature.

He had no clue what real dilemma was going on inside her head, but that didn't matter. Soon, she would become more useful in helping him answer a few questions about why Ember had been hunted down by Skulker.

To Be Continued.


	4. Chapter 4: Tragedies Left Unsaid

Chapter Four: Tragedies left unsaid

"My rose is blooming

And sending her scent

To you, my wanting one

My restless aura is touching you

From a hundred miles away

A silence you can't pay."

-Midnattsol, Unpayable Silence

A small hint of sunlight entered the window of Ember's bedroom as she tossed and turned in her sleep, trying to turn away from the burning and blinding effects of the sun that shined on her face. Ember only opened her eyes a little bit and stretched, but felt a sharp pain around her neck as the metal of the collar wrapped around her neck. She ignored that and now she needed a shower and something to wear.

She took a smell of her armpits and jumped back. "I may have been turned into a human because of Danny's little shock collar, but I don't want to smell like one."

Ember grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around her body and searched for a bathroom, hoping to find a decent shower and she was relieved when she found it. She tore away the blood and ectoplasm stained bandages and looked at her slender figure in the bathroom mirror. Most of her wounds had healed completely and the injury she suffered on her lower stomach had healed into a small scar. The shock collar may have taken away her power and immortality, but it could not take away her ability to regenerate overnight and on her face, ebony tears were falling down her cheeks from her eyes from crying last night.

She finished looking at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, turned on the shower faucets, and stepped in, letting the soft droplets of water pound against her back as it washed off her now normally paled skin and turned the water that sank down the drain into a mixture of black, green, and red. Ember must have spent hours letting the soap and water wash away the rancid filth.

Once get out, she grabbed a white towel from the towel rack and dried off, letting her now moist hair fall down her back and headed back to her room and opened the closet to look for something to wear and gasped with surprise and shock. These clothes obviously didn't belong to Jazz, they were Ember's. She searched through it and grabbed a pair of leather pants with black lacing going down the sides and slid them on, not even bothering to wear any underwear, they fit perfectly, but they were a burden to zip up.

Ember had nearly tried on everything to make sure that everything that was in the closet was her size. She then chose a black, silk Victorian shirt with flared fishnet sleeves that had the designs of spider-webs on the arms and a blood red rose at the top, but shirt left her shoulders bare and revealed the lower part of her torso. She was going to wear a skirt, but without her panties, it would look too slutty. She just chose a pair of black leather pants with silver buckles going down the sides and another grey belt that she would keep just in case she lost the other one. To complete it, she wore an elbow-length glove that she always wore on her arm.

The "closet from heaven" also possessed a number of shoes. Ember picked out a pair of darker grey boots similar to her original boots, but the skull was more demonic and they had spikes going up the front of them and spiked heels. She then tied her hair back with a baby blue ribbon before heading down stairs, the sound of her boots echoing throughout the house like a soldier's footsteps warning an enemy of his or her arrival and saw Danny sitting at the couch when she got to the living room and he noticed her presence.

"How was your nap?" Danny asked.

"Fine." Ember lied. She didn't want him to know about her troublesome memory that was in her dream last night.

"Well, you look great. A little sleepy, but still." Danny commented.

"Thanks." She said as she sat down next to him and looked at the living room. It was messy and pizza boxes were scattered everywhere and a television set rested in front of them. The coffee table had suffered some damage from the years that have passed. Things must have gone to pieces in the Fenton household ever since the death of Danny's family.

Danny then deliberately changed the subject. "Are you hungry?" he asked. Ember's stomach growled, signaling her hunger.

"I'll take that as a yes." Danny said as he got up and left Ember alone again. Ember lied down on the couch and placed her feet up on one of the arms of the couch and thought about her dream from last night. She had always thought she had died from a murder or at least that was what she thought the whole time. She then picked up a small picture frame that sat on the coffee table and saw the whole Fenton family, Tucker, and Sam. Those must have been happier days and what did she have in those days? Nothing; Just a false delusion of fame and power.

_ "I wonder if that guy in my dreams really was my father. Then again, I'm the one and only Ember Mclaine." _She was then broken from her thoughts when Danny entered the living room, holding out a small tray for her.

"Here." he said as he set the trey in front of Ember as she sat up and took a piece of leftover pizza from the trey and took a small bite out of it.

Danny sat down next to Ember and looked at her. He had never felt so caring for another ghost before ever since he obtained his powers through a lab accident. Ember had looked more beautiful as a ghost, but as a human, she appeared more innocent and less cynical.

He shook it off. "_Am I becoming attracted to her?" _He thought. Ember stopped eating, noticing that he was worried, and placed a soft, gentle hand on his cheek.

"What wrong baby-pop?" Ember asked.

"N-Nothing." Danny stuttered.

"Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?" She asked.

Danny took up the courage to tell Ember. "Well, you know my family, right?" Ember nodded. "Well, Vlad killed them! He killed every single one of them!" Danny said as he grabbed the picture frame from the coffee table and tossed it against the wall, shattering the glass frame to pieces.

"Danny.." Ember's voice trailed off.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper." Danny said apologetically.

"It's okay, you have every right to be angry after what he did to them." She replied, brushing a lock of hair out of her face as she got up and picked up the remains of the shattered picture frame with her gloved hand and held the photo with her bare hand, being careful not to smudge the photo. She then walked back to the couch, sat next to Danny, and wrapped her arms around him.

"I guess we're both lost in a cruel world." Ember whispered softly.

Danny nodded, growled with frustration under his breath, and he laid his head on Ember's lap while she played with his hair.

"I've destroyed ghosts mercilessly ever since that happened." Danny said as he looked up at Ember.

"Don't worry; I'll be here for you until the end of time. Besides, Skulker seemed to be the only one who was after me and he might not be our only problem." Ember said, the tone of her voice changing to a more nervous tone.

Danny was only left to wonder in his thoughts about why Ember had came to him for help and who was after her.

He would have to worry about that later…for now.

Skulker entered a darkened room and seemed to be completely eclipsed in the shadows of the existing darkness. Then, a voice came over the intercom that sounded of a German accent.

"Vell, vell Herr Skulker. Velcome home mein boy." the voice shouted over the intercom.

"_It's about time I received my payment."_ Skulker thought. He only grinned maniacally, the light green flame on his head seemed to be the only thing existing in the darkness of the large room where possible murderous ideals were committed against the race of man.

To Be Continued.


End file.
